The Importance of X-Rays in Diagnosing Low Back Pain: What You Need to Know
- Julian Simpson
- Sep 25, 2024
- 2 min read
The Importance of X-Rays in Diagnosing Low Back Pain: What You Need to Know
With nearly 1 in 3 adults waking up today with low back pain, and nearly 80% of adults having low back pain at some point in their life, it can be a worrying condition and you will want to know - how long will the pain last and will it come back?
What is low back pain?
In this blog, we will talk about non-specific low back pain, which is pain not linked to pathology
Low back pain usually contains pain , muscle tension and stiffness. It may have pain radiating down the leg (sciatica)
How long will the pain last- that's the big question. Factors that influence the duration of low back pain are
age
duration of back pain
poor general health
psychosocial stress
previous history of back pain
presence of other conditions
smoking
anxiety
depressive symptoms
knee osteoarthritis
Will X-rays help in the diagnosis and predict the likelihood of pain returning?
in 2024, research looked into how X-rays can predict the severity of pain in older adults. They found 3 things that will predict the increased likelihood of pain RETURNING in the low back!
If you have morning stiffness for more than 30 minutes
Painful spine rotation
The presence of multilevel osteophytes - only predicted on xrays
So if you are having long-term pain in the lower back that isn't healing quickly. it may be beneficial to get your chiropractor to take xrays
For more information about how we can help. Please call Health Wise Chiropractic 03 9467 7889 or book online to see one of our Chiropractors in Sunbury or Melton/Strathtulloh Today!
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We have over 30 programs on different health conditions
Each program contains
- Information about the conditions
- things to do and things to avoid
- nutrition advice
- all the stretches that are needed to help
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